The Berkhampstead Totem Pole

Many thanks to Brian who left a comment for me last night (all comments good or bad are gratefully received by the way  ) showing me a page about the Totem Pole.

Charles Brookson writes..

“I have a flat in Berkhamstead by the side of the Grand Union Canal (which is the canal route between London and Birmingham). You can also see it briefly from the train between Euston and the North of England. The land on which the flats are built used to be a wood yard, J Alsford Ltd., and it was they who put up the Totem Pole over 30 years ago.

Henry and Tony Hunt carved the Totem Pole in red cedar in the local tradition, and it was shipped across and erected on the site. The Totem Pole comes from Southern Kwakiutu in British Columbia, Canada.

It stands on land that is owned by the residents of the flats. We also own the Totem Pole !”

Having done a little research myself, I found this interesting snippet from Dacorum as well.

“The carving is a fertility symbol and legend has it that women wishing to conceive should visit and make three wishes for the child the dream of!”

Well there you go!!

Also noted on Charles Brookson’s site was this interesting bit..

“Passing boats are free to use the WiFi access point which is generally accessible from the opposite bank!It has been up for a few months and I have noticed a few people using it. Please send me an email if you find it useful.”

The email address given on the page is feedback@brookson.com.  Goodness, Charles is very lucky to have that .com name too!